Giant Pandas

The people of China have a very rich cultural history. Many cultural beliefs are deeply rooted in strong philosophical perspectives that have evolved over time as stories have been told and retold over generations. The Giant Panda has a special place in Chinese cultural lore, as many qualities and characteristics of the panda are qualities revered by Chinese society as a whole.

Three thousand years ago, a written history of the Xizhou Dynasty (1027-771 BC) was prepared. It was called the Shangshu (Chengdu Assoc., 1993a). The Shangshu described the Giant Panda, or "Pixiu," as an invincible animal, as strong as a tiger. This description was repeated in the Shijin, the first written collection of poems prepared at about the same time. This sentiment regarding the prowess of the panda may explain, in part, why panda pelts were offered as tribute to emperors and kings of the day.

During the Xizhou Dynasty, people in Pingwu had a special name for the panda: "Zouya." The Zouya was thought to be a gentle animal, as it was never observed to hurt man or beast. Thus, the panda became a symbol of peace. In that day, when warring armies took to the battlefield, if one army raised a flag with an image of the Zouya, the battle would immediately be called to a halt and a temporary peace would ensue. To this day, the panda continues to be a symbol of peace, and China has gifted pandas to many nations, including the United States, as a gesture of peaceful relations.

In the second century AD the giant panda was a rare and semi-divine animal inside China. In the Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) emperor's garden, in the then capital Xian, held nearly 40 rare animal species, of which the giant panda was the most highly treasured. The Chinese poet Bai Juyi (772-846 AD) credited the panda with the mystical powers capable of warding off natural disasters and exorcising evil spirits. Giant panda skins appear scattered throughout Chinese imperial records, as gifts or tributes on great occasions of states. The giant panda was totally unknown outside the secretive "Middle Kingdom" until the declining Qing Dynasty was slowly forced to open its doors to trade and Christianity towards the end of the 19th century. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the panda was described as having great medicinal value (Chengdu Assoc., 1993b). As detailed in a medical tome entitled Ben cao gang mu, the panda�s pelt was believed to have a magical influence that could repel plague and prevent tumors. Drinking panda urine was thought to dissolve impurities consumed by an inattentive patient.

In 1870, Alphonse Milne-Edwards upon dissecting what is believed to be a giant panda, found that many characteristics were unlike that of a bear and more similar to the red panda, (Ailurus fulgens). He placed the giant panda in a new genus; Ailuropoda melanoleuca only later to rename the giant panda Ailuropus (panda-like) seeing a similarity to the red panda, stated that Ailuropoda was a name already in use.

Aeluropus, the Latin spelling of Ailuropus was also used in scientific literature to refer to the giant panda. For a period of time these three names Ailuropoda, Ailuropus, and Aeluropus were used in scientific literature to refer to the giant panda. In some places, even today, the common name "panda" is taken to mean either the red or giant panda.

Local people have a variety of names for the panda. Some call it the catlike bear, or "maoxiong." Others, the bearlike cat, or �xiongmao.� Still others call it the banded bear, or "huaxiong." The consensus seems to be that the most suitable name for the panda is the great bearcat, or "daxiongmao" (Schaller, 1985). The English word "panda" is described by the American Heritage Dictionary as being of French descent. This may be due to the fact that the first westerner to see a panda was P.A. David, a French missionary who allegedly encountered a panda in Baoxing in 1850. The people of the area may have used the Nepali word "nigalya-ponya," or "eater of bamboo," to describe the panda, which David possibly altered to the modern word "panda"

Scientists have debated for more than a century whether giant pandas belong to the bear family, the raccoon family, or a separate family of their own. This is because the giant panda and its cousin, the lesser or red panda, share many characteristics with both bears and raccoons, Recent DNA analysis indicates that giant pandas are more closely related to bears and red pandas are more closely related to raccoons.

Famous Giant Pandas

YEAR	NAME	REASON
18 Dec. 1936	Su Lin	First Giant Panda infant to reach the U.S. alive - [Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, USA]
Apr. 1937	Su Lin	Dies at San Francisco Zoo, California U.S.
Dec. 1941	Pan Dee	Shipped to Bronx Zoo, New York, N.Y., U.S. by Madame Chaing Kai-Shek as gift to U.S.
Dec. 1941	Pan Dah	Shipped to Bronx Zoo, New York, N.Y., U.S. by Madame Chaing Kai-Shek as gift to U.S.
1962	Dudu	Born at the Wolong Nature Reserve - [Sichuan Province, China]
09 Sept. 1963	Li Li	Mother of first ever captive breed live birth - Ming Ming - [Beijing Zoo, China]
09 Sept. 1963	Ming Ming	First ever captive breed artificially inseminated live birth - [Beijing Zoo, China]
Sept. 1964	Lin Lin	First female captive born cub to Li-Li - [Beijing Zoo, China]
Sept. 1965	Chiao Chiao	Mother of captive born cub Hua-Hua - [Beijing Zoo, China]
Sept. 1965	Hua Hua	First born captive born cub to Chiao-Chiao - [Beijing Zoo, China]
April 1972	Hsing Hsing	A gift from China to President Richard M. Nixon -Male- [National Zoo, Washington D.C., USA]
April 1972	Ling Ling	A gift from China to President Richard M. Nixon -Female- [National Zoo, Washington D.C., USA]
1972	Dudu	Moved from Chengdu Zoo (S.W. China) to Wuhan Zoo - [Hubei Province, China]
Dec. 1973	Yen Yen	Presented to President Georges Pompidou by China's Prime Minister Chou En-lai [Vincennes Zoo, Paris, France]
1975	Pe Pe	First male Giant Panda as a gift to Mexico from China (parent of Tohui) - Died 1988
Sept. 1975	Ying Ying	First female Giant Panda as a gift to Mexico from China (parent of Tohui) - Died 1989
1978	Yuan Jing	First Giant Panda born by artificial insemination - [Beijing Zoo, China]
Sept. 1979	Lan Lan	Female dies at 10 years old. - [Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japan]
Aug. 1980	Ying Ying	Gives birth to Xengli who died 9 days later. - unknown gender - First giant panda born outside China. - [Chapultepec, Zoo, Mexico]
Aug. 1980	Kang Kang	Male dies at 10 years old. - [Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japan]
1981	Chia Chia	Arrives from London Zoo for mating purposes - [National Zoo, Washington D.C., USA] - UNCONFIRMED
1981	Chia Chia	Returns to London Zoo after unsuccessful mating attempt. - UNCONFIRMED
22 June 1983	Liang Liang	Born - Male offspring of Pe-Pe & Ying-Ying - Chapultepec Zoo - [Mexico City, Mexico]
21 July 1981	Ying Ying	Gives birth to Tohui (F) - first giant panda born outside China to stay alive Chapultepec Zoo - [Mexico City, Mexico]
1984	Unknown	Chinese government loans U.S. two Giant Pandas for exhibit at World Summer Olympics (Los Angeles Zoo)
1985	Zhen Zhen	Giant Panda of Wolong's Nature Reserve - Dies at approximate age of 14 y/o
25 June 1985	Xiu' H'ua	Born - Female offspring of Pe-Pe & Ying-Ying - Chapultepec Zoo - [Mexico City, Mexico]
June 1985	Huan Haun	Gave birth to Chu Chu - died two days after birth. [Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japan]
Nov.-Jan. 1985	Yun Yun	Loaned to San Francisco Zoo, California, U.S. for exhibit from Beijing Zoo for $250,000.00 U.S. currency
Nov.-Jan. 1985	Ying Xin	Loaned to San Francisco Zoo, California, U.S. for exhibit from Beijing Zoo for $250,000.00 U.S. currency
1986	Lan Tian	First captive bred cub at Wolong Nature Reserve - Female offspring of Li-Li
June 1986	Huan Haun	Gave birth to Tong Tong (F) - [Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japan]
15 June 1987	Shuan Shuan	Born Female offspring of Pe-Pe & Ying-Ying - Chapultepec Zoo - [Mexico City, Mexico]
June 1988	Huan Haun	Gave birth to You You (M) - [Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japan]
Nov. 1988	Chia Chia	Sent from London Zoo to Chapultepec Zoo - [Mexico City, Mexico]
1988	Pe Pe	Dies at Chapultepec Zoo - [Mexico City, Mexico]

Giant PandasMei Xiang and Tian Tian are the Smithsonian's National Zoo's second pair of giant pandas. Both were born at the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan Province.

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